Retail marketing considerations for American brands breaking into the Canadian market

The recent announcement of Nordstrom’s departure from Canada has sparked conversation around what American retailers need to consider when playing in the Canadian market. Marketing plays a substantial role in the success of brands when they venture North of the border, and a robust omnichannel marketing strategy catered to Canadian consumers’ priorities and behaviours is critical for sustainable success in Canada.

Introducing a new brand to a foreign market can present several challenges, but these marketing best practices and considerations for creative development and targeting can help brands planning to take the leap.

Understanding your audience

A recent report found that 72 per cent of Canadians believe that we are currently in or headed toward a recession. This skepticism about the state of the economy has led 55 per cent of Canadians to switch brands in at least one area in order to save money - rising to 62 per cent among Canadians aged 18-34. Further, 79 per cent of Canadians have reduced their non-essential activities and spending since January 2023 in order to save money.

So, what does all of this mean? Canadians are currently prioritizing cost savings and will be more likely to positively engage with advertisers who put forth price-conscious messaging. When marketing to Canadian audiences in the next year, it is crucial to monitor customer sentiment on the economy, affordability and household priorities.

To best resonate with potential customers, brands need to go beyond understanding the demographics of their target audience, and really dig into their personas. This can be done by evaluating prospects by their lifestyle characteristics and behaviors based on the locations they visit, decisions they make or actions they take. For example, is your target customer a deal seeker? Are they driven by exclusive offers that reward repeat customers? Do they frequent the gym? Understanding their priorities and what drives them on their path to purchase is key.

Customizing creative with a Canadian lens

Now is the time for brands, especially U.S. brands looking to expand in Canada, to create a relationship with consumers, not just target them. To do this, brands need to lead with strong creative that tells a story, delivers value and creates urgency.

Brands can’t expect to see success by replicating creative assets across all markets without acknowledging the unique needs and behaviours of Canadian consumers. We have all seen creative advertisements that were developed for one market and deployed globally - this approach typically falls short and misses out on actually connecting with consumers through personalized creative. Canada is its own market with unique consumer personas and that needs to pull through an ad in order for it to be effective. For example, the majority of Canadians (80 per cent), want personalized products and experiences from the brands they engage with. Knowing this, savvy marketers should consider how their creative best taps into this key insight as relevant for their Canadian customer.

Contextually relevant creative will also always outperform a generic ad. Focusing on store or regional promotions will allow brands to reach customers on a hyper-local level. Additionally, seasonal marketing is a tried and true tactic leveraged by many brands when customizing creative messaging based on priority regional brand moments, such as seasonal product launches or shoppers looking for sales around specific holidays.

With dynamic creative capabilities, for instance, marketers can utilize data to inform brand messaging and serve the most relevant ad content to viewers on each digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising screen, with no manual work or creative variations required. From local sports scores, event countdowns, and weather and traffic updates, to directions to a store, limited-time offers and localized imagery, dynamic creative is an excellent tool for brands to leverage when entering a new market.

Targeting and triggers

To properly engage with its target audience, a brand must understand the behaviours and patterns of the local consumer journey. Media activations that allow brands to connect with shoppers during key touch points throughout the day using a variety of data-driven out-of-home (OOH) tactics are key. This allows brands to reach on-the-go shoppers across the path to purchase with custom targeting and messaging, and as a result, drive foot traffic to brick-and-mortar store locations or even influence purchasing decisions online. From office buildings, malls and cinemas, to gas stations, residential buildings and gyms, DOOH screens can deploy campaigns across contextually relevant locations to pique consumer interest in a product or brand.

Moreover, proximity targeting capabilities of DOOH can enable brands to establish ads in key locations near where its product is sold or competitor locations. The channel also allows marketers to tap into weather triggers and activate specific messaging based on the local conditions in Canada, and can even turn on – or off – an ad based on the time of day or day of the week to ensure it has the highest impact. By utilizing programmatic solutions for DOOH, North American brands can seamlessly place media buys across several countries with both English and French creative.

Real-world impact and measurement

Understanding the true return on investment and real-world impact of a campaign is extremely important to determine the next steps for any marketing strategy. Brands should consider investing in a robust post-campaign measurement study to analyze brand health and consumer behavior indicators, such as awareness, consideration, favorability, purchase intent and foot traffic. By doing so, U.S. brands breaking into the Canadian market can evaluate campaign performance and insights to inform next steps, taking their broader marketing strategy to the next level.

Scott Mitchell, Managing Director, Canada, Vistar Media